Athletics Claim Donn Roach From Tigers

The Tigers announced this afternoon that right-hander Donn Roach, whom they had designated for assignment over the weekend, has been claimed off waivers by the Athletics.

Roach, 26, has a 5.77 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 18 walks in 39 career innings at the Major League level, but his massive ground-ball tendencies continue to intrigue teams enough to land on 40-man rosters. Roach posted a 3.03 ERA in his Triple-A run with the Tigers, fanning 21 batters against just five walks in 29 innings of work. He’s posted a gaudy 67.1 percent ground-ball rate in his big league career and has a 59 percent ground-ball rate in Triple-A this year. He’ll add some depth to the Athletics’ Triple-A team on the eve of the playoffs, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter), who points out that recent promotions have depleted the Athletics’ Triple-A roster.

Roach has bounced all over the league in the past two years, spending time on the 40-man roster with the Padres, Cubs, Blue Jays, Reds, Mariners, Tigers and now Athletics.